US arrests 2 Chinese nationals for smuggling NVIDIA AI chips
What's the story
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has arrested and charged two Chinese nationals for illegally exporting high-end artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China. The DOJ alleges that over the last three years, ALX Solutions, a company run by Chuan Geng and Shiwei Yang, exported these chips from the US to China without necessary licenses.
Chip controversy
NVIDIA's GPUs were sent to China
The shipments in question included NVIDIA's H100 graphics processing units (GPUs), which are now a major target of US export controls to prevent China from acquiring this advanced technology. An NVIDIA spokesperson said that smuggling their chips "is a nonstarter," and added that they only sell products to trusted partners who ensure compliance with US export control rules.
Shipping scrutiny
ALX Solutions had only 3 employees
Court documents reveal that California-based ALX Solutions had three known employees—Geng, Yang, and an unnamed CEO. The DOJ claims these individuals had "full decision-making authority and shipment coordination" for the firm. Between October 2022 and July 2025, the company allegedly shipped goods multiple times from the US to shipping firms in Singapore and Malaysia—both countries often used as transit points for illegal shipments to China.
Payment patterns
They didn't receive payments from shipping firms
ALX Solutions reportedly didn't receive payments from these shipping firms but was paid by other companies based in Hong Kong and China. This included a $1 million payment from a China-based firm in January 2024, the DOJ said. In December last year, ALX sent a shipment with export-restricted computing chips—including NVIDIA's H100 and GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs—that was checked by US customs.
Legal implications
They could face up to 20 years in prison
In a 2023 invoice worth over $28.4 million, ALX allegedly told Super Micro Computer, a supplier of NVIDIA chips, that the devices were ordered for a Singapore-based customer. However, a US export control officer in Singapore couldn't confirm the chips arrived there and the company named didn't exist at that location. If found guilty of these charges, Geng and Yang could face up to 20 years in prison.